In the memoir, First They Killed My Father, Loung recaps her life from the age of five to the age of nine. Loung Ung describes to the young readers her torturous, devastating life during the Khmer Rouge invasion of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Loung tries to inform the reader of how life was for the people during Pol Pot’s, the leader of the Angrakha, regime by stating her own life experience at the age of 5 but using the diction of an adult. Loung depicts the situations occurring, repeats phrases, and has flashbacks to transmit her irritation and grief to the reader.
Imagery is the very first strategy used by Loung in the first paragraph of the story to capture the reader's attention. She starts of the story by describing a usual morning …show more content…
One of the first flashbacks she has is about her sister Keav. She remembers that in Phnom Penh Keav “was the most beautiful girl on our block, Ma said that she could have her pick of anyone to marry. Each month, Keav would travel with Ma to a beauty salon to have her nails painted. I used to watch Keav fuss over her school uniform, pressing and repressing her blue pleated skirt and white shirts so they looked as crisp and new as possible. She then compares this to how her sister’s physical appearance is now stating, “ with the red-and-white checked scarf covering her thinning oily black hair that peeks out beneath it, she looks more like ten years old than fourteen.” As the story proceeds, Loung is moved to a new camp where they have gathering at night with singing and dancing which brings some joy to her. She remembers that in Phnom Penh she and her sister Chou, “ used to take Keav’s clothes out of her drawers and played dress-up with them… Chou and I slipped in and out of her clothes, laughing and calling each other Madame and Mademoiselle. Then we’d go into Kev’s jewelry box and put on her necklaces and earrings. Both flashbacks contrats her life during Pol Pot’s ruling and her past life, explaining how the mistreating has changed them physically and how there isn’t much joy in the environment.
In First They Killed my Father, imagery, repetition, and flashbacks are used to explain the rage and sorrow felt and seen by Loung. While she starts of describing her life at first in Phnom Penh as joyful, her word choice inverts to a gloomy, furious tone when the invasion
Imagery is the very first strategy used by Loung in the first paragraph of the story to capture the reader's attention. She starts of the story by describing a usual morning …show more content…
One of the first flashbacks she has is about her sister Keav. She remembers that in Phnom Penh Keav “was the most beautiful girl on our block, Ma said that she could have her pick of anyone to marry. Each month, Keav would travel with Ma to a beauty salon to have her nails painted. I used to watch Keav fuss over her school uniform, pressing and repressing her blue pleated skirt and white shirts so they looked as crisp and new as possible. She then compares this to how her sister’s physical appearance is now stating, “ with the red-and-white checked scarf covering her thinning oily black hair that peeks out beneath it, she looks more like ten years old than fourteen.” As the story proceeds, Loung is moved to a new camp where they have gathering at night with singing and dancing which brings some joy to her. She remembers that in Phnom Penh she and her sister Chou, “ used to take Keav’s clothes out of her drawers and played dress-up with them… Chou and I slipped in and out of her clothes, laughing and calling each other Madame and Mademoiselle. Then we’d go into Kev’s jewelry box and put on her necklaces and earrings. Both flashbacks contrats her life during Pol Pot’s ruling and her past life, explaining how the mistreating has changed them physically and how there isn’t much joy in the environment.
In First They Killed my Father, imagery, repetition, and flashbacks are used to explain the rage and sorrow felt and seen by Loung. While she starts of describing her life at first in Phnom Penh as joyful, her word choice inverts to a gloomy, furious tone when the invasion